Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To Establish a PORTAL Reference Database and Related Fees, 56876-56878 [E8-22859]
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56876
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 190 / Tuesday, September 30, 2008 / Notices
B. Institute proceedings to determine
whether the proposed rule change
should be disapproved.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act.
Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File
Number SR–FINRA–2008–046 on the
subject line.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.28
Florence E. Harmon,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8–22927 Filed 9–29–08; 8:45 am]
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
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Jkt 214001
101+ Users .........
[Release No. 34–58622; File No. SR–
NASDAQ–2008–072]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; The
NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of
Filing of Proposed Rule Change To
Establish a PORTAL Reference
Database and Related Fees
September 23, 2008.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
• Send paper comments in triplicate
notice is hereby given that on
to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
September 16, 2008, the NASDAQ Stock
Commission, 100 F Street, NE.,
Market LLC (‘‘Nasdaq’’) filed with the
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
Securities and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
All submissions should refer to File
change as described in Items I, II, and
Number SR–FINRA–2008–046. This file
III below, which Items have been
number should be included on the
prepared by Nasdaq. The Commission is
subject line if e-mail is used. To help the publishing this notice to solicit
Commission process and review your
comments on the proposed rule change
comments more efficiently, please use
from interested persons.
only one method. The Commission will
post all comments on the Commission’s I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
the Proposed Rule Change
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
Nasdaq proposes to establish a
amendments, all written statements
PORTAL Reference Database. Nasdaq
with respect to the proposed rule
will make the proposed rule change
change that are filed with the
effective immediately upon approval.
Commission, and all written
The text of the proposed rule change
communications relating to the
is below. Proposed new language is
proposed rule change between the
italicized.3
Commission and any person, other than
*
*
*
*
*
those that may be withheld from the
7050. PORTAL Reference Database
public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
The following charges shall apply to
available for inspection and copying in
access to the PORTAL Reference
the Commission’s Public Reference
Database:
Room, 100 F Street, NE., Washington,
(1) For PORTAL data for 2008 and
DC 20549, on official business days
between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. future years, the annual fee is:
$20,000
Copies of the filing also will be available 1–20 Users ............................
21 to 100 Users ....................
$50,000
for inspection and copying at the
101+ Users ...........................
$100,000
principal office of FINRA. All comments
(2) For PORTAL data for 1990 to 2007,
received will be posted without change;
the fee for each year of reference data
the Commission does not edit personal
shall be:
identifying information from
submissions. You should submit only
28 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
information that you wish to make
1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
available publicly. All submissions
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
should refer to File Number SR–FINRA–
3 Changes are marked to the rule text that appears
2008–046 and should be submitted on
in the electronic Nasdaq Manual found at https://
or before October 21, 2008.
nasdaq.complinet.com.
15:35 Sep 29, 2008
21 to 100 Users
BILLING CODE 8010–01–P
Paper Comments
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1–20 Users .........
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*
*
*
$20,000 (not to exceed
$200,000 for access to
all PORTAL historical
data files from 1990 to
2007).
$50,000 (not to exceed
$500,000 for access to
all PORTAL historical
data files from 1990 to
2007).
$100,000 (not to exceed
$1,000,000 for access
to all PORTAL historical data files from
1990 to 2007).
*
*
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission,
Nasdaq included statements concerning
the purpose of and basis for the
proposed rule change and discussed any
comments it received on the proposed
rule change. The text of these statements
may be examined at the places specified
in Item IV below. Nasdaq has prepared
summaries, set forth in Sections A, B,
and C below, of the most significant
aspects of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
Background
The National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc. (‘‘NASD’’) created the
PORTAL Market in 1990,4
simultaneously with the SEC’s adoption
of Rule 144A,5 to be a new trading
system for the purpose of quoting,
trading, and reporting trades in
securities deemed eligible for resale by
Qualified Institutional Buyers under
Rule 144A. Rule 144A provides an
exemption from registration under
Section 5 of the Securities Act 6 for
resales of privately placed securities to
investors that meet the eligibility
requirements of being a qualified
institutional buyer (‘‘QIB’’) under Rule
144A(a)(1),7 i.e., institutional investors
that in the aggregate own or invest on
a discretionary basis at least $100
million in securities and broker/dealers
that in the aggregate own or invest on
a discretionary basis at least $10 million
in securities. The PORTAL Market did
4 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 27956
(April 27, 1990), 55 FR 18781 (May 4, 1990) (the
‘‘original PORTAL rule filing’’).
5 Securities Act Release No. 6862 (April 23, 1990),
55 FR 17933 (April 30, 1990).
6 17 [sic] U.S.C. 77e.
7 17 CFR 230.144A(a)(1).
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 190 / Tuesday, September 30, 2008 / Notices
not develop as anticipated.8 For many
years, the sole function of the NASD
related to the PORTAL market was to
review whether an issue of privately
placed securities met the eligibility
requirements of Rule 144A, thereby
qualifying the securities for DTC bookentry services.
The staff of Nasdaq has historically
had responsibility for review of
PORTAL applications to determine the
eligibility of securities and, originally,
PORTAL participants (including broker/
dealers and investors). Upon the
separation of Nasdaq from the NASD
and the approval of Nasdaq as a
registered national securities exchange
under Section 6 of the Act, the review
functions for PORTAL market eligibility
were retained by Nasdaq and the
PORTAL Market Rules in the NASD
Rule 5300 Series became the Nasdaq
Rule 6500 Series.9 The NASD
continued, however, to regulate trading
reporting for PORTAL-designated
securities.
Since 1990, Nasdaq has designated
over 26,000 equity and debt securities as
being PORTAL-eligible. This
designation process includes the
submission and review of offering
documents and memorandum related to
the restricted nature of the security and
the completion of a PORTAL market
application form.
ebenthall on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
PORTAL Reference Database
As part of Nasdaq’s continuing efforts
to enhance the transparency and
efficiency of trading in Rule 144A
issues, Nasdaq has created and intends
to make publicly available, for a fee, a
consolidated electronic reference
database of information culled from
PORTAL offering documents and
applications submitted to Nasdaq since
1990. The database is fully electronic
and allows users to determine, in
addition to other information, a
PORTAL issue’s name and offering
description, CUSIP, country of
incorporation, security class, maturity
class and date, currency denomination,
applicable interest and credit rating,
convertibility and call provisions, total
number of shares offered, and date of
PORTAL designation. As new issues
seek PORTAL designation, they too will
be added to the database. Access to the
database will open to all market
participants.
As set forth in the proposed rule text,
pricing for access to the database will be
8 For more information related to the background
of The PORTAL Market, see Securities Exchange
Act Release No. 55669 (April 25, 2007); 72 FR
23874 (May 1, 2007).
9 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53128 (Jan.
13, 2006); 71 FR 3550 (Jan. 23, 2006).
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:35 Sep 29, 2008
Jkt 214001
tiered based on the number of users
authorized for access and the number of
the years for which access is desired.
There will be no pro-rating of these
annual fees and all parties will pay a
full year’s fee regardless of when they
elect to seek access to the database. The
total cost of access to the full database
will, however, be capped based on the
number of users at a particular firm.
Nasdaq believes that this pricing
structure will allow users to better align
and control their costs of access with
their data usage.
Nasdaq believes that PORTAL
reference database will materially
improve the availability of historical
information about issuances of
restricted equity and debt and provide
a more reliable background upon which
market participants can make
investment decisions regarding such
securities.
2. Statutory Basis
Nasdaq believes that the proposed
rule change is consistent with the
provisions of Section 6 of the Act,10 in
general, and with Section 6(b)(4) of the
Act,11 in particular, in that it provides
for the equitable allocation of reasonable
dues, fees and other charges among
members and issuers and other persons
using any facility or system which
Nasdaq operates or controls. Nasdaq
notes that creation of the PORTAL
reference database required the
retrieval, organization, and review of
hundreds of thousands of pages of hardcopy documents as well as the
conversion of retrieved information into
electronic form, and its subsequent
importation into the database itself. In
addition, the database also required
programming an information entry and
retrieval protocol. On an ongoing basis,
Nasdaq will also incur hardware and
software costs for the maintenance and
storage of PORTAL reference data.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
Nasdaq does not believe that the
proposed rule change will result in any
burden on competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act, as amended.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received from
Members, Participants, or Others
Written comments were neither
solicited nor received.
10 15
11 15
PO 00000
U.S.C. 78f.
U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
Frm 00087
Fmt 4703
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56877
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 35 days of the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register or within such longer period (i)
as the Commission may designate up to
90 days of such date if it finds such
longer period to be appropriate and
publishes its reasons for so finding or
(ii) as to which the self-regulatory
organization consents, the Commission
will:
A. By order approve such proposed
rule change, or
B. Institute proceedings to determine
whether the proposed rule change
should be disapproved.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act.
Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File
Number SR–NASDAQ–2008–072 on the
subject line.
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, Station Place, 100 F Street,
NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NASDAQ–2008–072. This
file number should be included on the
subject line if e-mail is used. To help the
Commission process and review your
comments more efficiently, please use
only one method. The Commission will
post all comments on the Commission’s
Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
with respect to the proposed rule
change that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than
those that may be withheld from the
public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
available for inspection and copying in
the Commission’s Public Reference
Room on official business days between
the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies
of such filing also will be available for
E:\FR\FM\30SEN1.SGM
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56878
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 190 / Tuesday, September 30, 2008 / Notices
inspection and copying at the principal
office of Nasdaq. All comments received
will be posted without change; the
Commission does not edit personal
identifying information from
submissions. You should submit only
information that you wish to make
available publicly.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NASDAQ–2008–072 and
should be submitted on or before
October 21, 2008.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.12
Florence E. Harmon,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8–22859 Filed 9–29–08; 8:45 am]
Primary Counties:
Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot,
Clark, Cleveland, Conway, Dallas,
Drew, Garland, Grant, Hot Spring,
Lincoln, Montgomery, Perry,
Prairie, Saline, Van Buren.
Contiguous Counties (Economic Injury
Loans Only):
Arkansas: Arkansas, Cleburne, Desha,
Faulkner, Howard, Jefferson,
Nevada, Ouachita, Pike, Polk, Pope,
Pulaski, Scott, Searcy, Stone,
Union, Yell.
Louisiana: East Carroll, Morehouse,
Union, West Carroll.
Mississippi: Bolivar, Issaquena,
Washington.
The Interest Rates are:
BILLING CODE 8010–01–P
Percent
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
[Disaster Declaration #11448]
Arkansas Disaster #AR–00023
U.S. Small Business
Administration.
ACTION: Notice.
Other (Including Non-Profit Organizations) With Credit Available
Elsewhere .................................
Businesses And Non-Profit Organizations Without Credit Available Elsewhere .........................
5.250
Percent
4.000
AGENCY:
This is a Notice of the
Presidential declaration of a major
disaster for Public Assistance Only for
the State of Arkansas (FEMA–1793–DR),
dated 09/18/2008.
Incident: Severe storms and flooding
associated with Hurricane Gustav.
Incident Period: 09/02/2008 through
09/08/2008.
Effective Date: 09/18/2008.
Physical Loan Application Deadline
Date: 11/17/2008.
Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan
Application Deadline Date: 06/18/2009.
ADDRESSES: Submit completed loan
applications to: U.S. Small Business
Administration, Processing and
Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport
Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A.
Escobar, Office of Disaster Assistance,
U.S. Small Business Administration,
409 3rd Street, SW., Suite 6050,
Washington, DC 20416
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is
hereby given that as a result of the
President’s major disaster declaration on
09/18/2008, Private Non-Profit
organizations that provide essential
services of governmental nature may file
disaster loan applications at the address
listed above or other locally announced
locations.
The following areas have been
determined to be adversely affected by
the disaster:
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SUMMARY:
12 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:35 Sep 29, 2008
Jkt 214001
U.S. Small Business Administration,
409 3rd Street, SW., Suite 6050,
Washington, DC 20416.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is
hereby given that as a result of the
President’s major disaster declaration on
09/23/2008, applications for disaster
loans may be filed at the address listed
above or other locally announced
locations.
The following areas have been
determined to be adversely affected by
the disaster:
Primary Counties (Physical Damage and
Economic Injury Loans):
La Porte, Lake, Porter.
Contiguous Counties (Economic Injury
Loans Only):
Indiana: Jasper, Newton, St Joseph,
Starke.
Illinois: Cook, Kankakee, Will.
Michigan: Berrien.
The Interest Rates are:
The number assigned to this disaster
for physical damage and economic
injury is 11448.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Numbers 59002 and 59008)
Herbert L. Mitchell,
Associate Administrator for Disaster
Assistance.
[FR Doc. E8–22902 Filed 9–29–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8025–01–P
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
For Physical Damage:
Homeowners With Credit Available Elsewhere ......................
Homeowners Without Credit
Available Elsewhere ..............
Businesses With Credit Available Elsewhere ......................
Other (Including Non-Profit Organizations)
With
Credit
Available Elsewhere ..............
Businesses and Non-Profit Organizations Without Credit
Available Elsewhere ..............
For Economic Injury:
Businesses & Small Agricultural
Cooperatives Without Credit
Available Elsewhere ..............
5.750
2.875
8.000
5.250
4.000
4.000
[Disaster Declaration #11449 and #11450]
Indiana Disaster #IN–00026
U.S. Small Business
Administration.
ACTION: Notice.
The number assigned to this disaster
for physical damage is 114496 and for
economic injury is 114500.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Numbers 59002 and 59008)
AGENCY:
This is a Notice of the
Presidential declaration of a major
disaster for the State of Indiana (FEMA–
1795–DR), dated 09/23/2008.
Incident: Severe storms and flooding.
Incident Period: 09/12/2008 and
continuing.
Effective Date: 09/23/2008.
Physical Loan Application Deadline
Date: 11/24/2008.
Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan
Application Deadline Date: 06/23/2009.
ADDRESSES: Submit completed loan
applications to: U.S. Small Business
Administration, Processing and
Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport
Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A.
Escobar, Office of Disaster Assistance,
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00088
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Herbert L. Mitchell,
Associate Administrator for Disaster
Assistance.
[FR Doc. E8–22901 Filed 9–29–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8025–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 6380]
60-Day Notice of Proposed Information
Collection: Department of State
Acquisition Regulation (DOSAR), OMB
Control Number 1405–0050
Notice of request for public
comments.
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The Department of State is
seeking Office of Management and
E:\FR\FM\30SEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 190 (Tuesday, September 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56876-56878]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22859]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-58622; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2008-072]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC;
Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To Establish a PORTAL
Reference Database and Related Fees
September 23, 2008.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on September 16, 2008, the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (``Nasdaq'') filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') the
proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which
Items have been prepared by Nasdaq. The Commission is publishing this
notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested
persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
Nasdaq proposes to establish a PORTAL Reference Database. Nasdaq
will make the proposed rule change effective immediately upon approval.
The text of the proposed rule change is below. Proposed new
language is italicized.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Changes are marked to the rule text that appears in the
electronic Nasdaq Manual found at https://nasdaq.complinet.com.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
7050. PORTAL Reference Database
The following charges shall apply to access to the PORTAL Reference
Database:
(1) For PORTAL data for 2008 and future years, the annual fee is:
1-20 Users.............................................. $20,000
21 to 100 Users......................................... $50,000
101+ Users.............................................. $100,000
(2) For PORTAL data for 1990 to 2007, the fee for each year of
reference data shall be:
1-20 Users................................ $20,000 (not to exceed
$200,000 for access to all
PORTAL historical data
files from 1990 to 2007).
21 to 100 Users........................... $50,000 (not to exceed
$500,000 for access to all
PORTAL historical data
files from 1990 to 2007).
101+ Users................................ $100,000 (not to exceed
$1,000,000 for access to
all PORTAL historical data
files from 1990 to 2007).
* * * * *
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, Nasdaq included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. Nasdaq has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections A,
B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
Background
The National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (``NASD'')
created the PORTAL Market in 1990,\4\ simultaneously with the SEC's
adoption of Rule 144A,\5\ to be a new trading system for the purpose of
quoting, trading, and reporting trades in securities deemed eligible
for resale by Qualified Institutional Buyers under Rule 144A. Rule 144A
provides an exemption from registration under Section 5 of the
Securities Act \6\ for resales of privately placed securities to
investors that meet the eligibility requirements of being a qualified
institutional buyer (``QIB'') under Rule 144A(a)(1),\7\ i.e.,
institutional investors that in the aggregate own or invest on a
discretionary basis at least $100 million in securities and broker/
dealers that in the aggregate own or invest on a discretionary basis at
least $10 million in securities. The PORTAL Market did
[[Page 56877]]
not develop as anticipated.\8\ For many years, the sole function of the
NASD related to the PORTAL market was to review whether an issue of
privately placed securities met the eligibility requirements of Rule
144A, thereby qualifying the securities for DTC book-entry services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 27956 (April 27, 1990),
55 FR 18781 (May 4, 1990) (the ``original PORTAL rule filing'').
\5\ Securities Act Release No. 6862 (April 23, 1990), 55 FR
17933 (April 30, 1990).
\6\ 17 [sic] U.S.C. 77e.
\7\ 17 CFR 230.144A(a)(1).
\8\ For more information related to the background of The PORTAL
Market, see Securities Exchange Act Release No. 55669 (April 25,
2007); 72 FR 23874 (May 1, 2007).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The staff of Nasdaq has historically had responsibility for review
of PORTAL applications to determine the eligibility of securities and,
originally, PORTAL participants (including broker/dealers and
investors). Upon the separation of Nasdaq from the NASD and the
approval of Nasdaq as a registered national securities exchange under
Section 6 of the Act, the review functions for PORTAL market
eligibility were retained by Nasdaq and the PORTAL Market Rules in the
NASD Rule 5300 Series became the Nasdaq Rule 6500 Series.\9\ The NASD
continued, however, to regulate trading reporting for PORTAL-designated
securities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 53128 (Jan. 13, 2006);
71 FR 3550 (Jan. 23, 2006).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since 1990, Nasdaq has designated over 26,000 equity and debt
securities as being PORTAL-eligible. This designation process includes
the submission and review of offering documents and memorandum related
to the restricted nature of the security and the completion of a PORTAL
market application form.
PORTAL Reference Database
As part of Nasdaq's continuing efforts to enhance the transparency
and efficiency of trading in Rule 144A issues, Nasdaq has created and
intends to make publicly available, for a fee, a consolidated
electronic reference database of information culled from PORTAL
offering documents and applications submitted to Nasdaq since 1990. The
database is fully electronic and allows users to determine, in addition
to other information, a PORTAL issue's name and offering description,
CUSIP, country of incorporation, security class, maturity class and
date, currency denomination, applicable interest and credit rating,
convertibility and call provisions, total number of shares offered, and
date of PORTAL designation. As new issues seek PORTAL designation, they
too will be added to the database. Access to the database will open to
all market participants.
As set forth in the proposed rule text, pricing for access to the
database will be tiered based on the number of users authorized for
access and the number of the years for which access is desired. There
will be no pro-rating of these annual fees and all parties will pay a
full year's fee regardless of when they elect to seek access to the
database. The total cost of access to the full database will, however,
be capped based on the number of users at a particular firm. Nasdaq
believes that this pricing structure will allow users to better align
and control their costs of access with their data usage.
Nasdaq believes that PORTAL reference database will materially
improve the availability of historical information about issuances of
restricted equity and debt and provide a more reliable background upon
which market participants can make investment decisions regarding such
securities.
2. Statutory Basis
Nasdaq believes that the proposed rule change is consistent with
the provisions of Section 6 of the Act,\10\ in general, and with
Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,\11\ in particular, in that it provides for
the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges
among members and issuers and other persons using any facility or
system which Nasdaq operates or controls. Nasdaq notes that creation of
the PORTAL reference database required the retrieval, organization, and
review of hundreds of thousands of pages of hard-copy documents as well
as the conversion of retrieved information into electronic form, and
its subsequent importation into the database itself. In addition, the
database also required programming an information entry and retrieval
protocol. On an ongoing basis, Nasdaq will also incur hardware and
software costs for the maintenance and storage of PORTAL reference
data.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
\11\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
Nasdaq does not believe that the proposed rule change will result
in any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act, as amended.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received from Members, Participants, or Others
Written comments were neither solicited nor received.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 35 days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
A. By order approve such proposed rule change, or
B. Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule
change should be disapproved.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
Electronic Comments
Use the Commission's Internet comment form (https://
www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
Send an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include
File Number SR-NASDAQ-2008-072 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, Station Place, 100 F Street, NE., Washington,
DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NASDAQ-2008-072. This
file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used.
To help the Commission process and review your comments more
efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all
comments on the Commission's Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments,
all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that
are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating
to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person,
other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance
with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for inspection
and copying in the Commission's Public Reference Room on official
business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of such
filing also will be available for
[[Page 56878]]
inspection and copying at the principal office of Nasdaq. All comments
received will be posted without change; the Commission does not edit
personal identifying information from submissions. You should submit
only information that you wish to make available publicly.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NASDAQ-2008-072 and
should be submitted on or before October 21, 2008.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\12\
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\12\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-22859 Filed 9-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P
